Protein is needed to strengthen muscles, but these proteins should be eaten for breakfast. In fact, researchers are realizing that, in addition to what you eat, in order to ensure health and benefits through diet, is also important when you eat. This emerges from a very recent scientific research published in Cell Reports by a Japanese team (Aoyama et al, Cell Reports, 2021).
When to eat proteins
Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids and support and stimulate the growth of skeletal muscles, which are the muscles that allow movement. Healthy muscles, therefore, mean a better ability to stay active, at all ages, to move and avoid falls. However, it has been observed that the body's ability to absorb proteins depends on the time of day in which proteins are introduced with food. To shed light on this aspect and understand the best time to ingest proteins that can then support the muscles, the Japanese researchers have launched a study, carried out on animals and humans, which we are talking about today.
Better for breakfast, the research
First, the researchers studied the effects on leg muscles caused by the ingestion of protein in the morning or in the evening in a population of mice. What emerged was that the mice that ate protein in the morning had more leg muscle development than those who ate protein in the evening.
Strong and active muscles with protein at breakfast
To verify these results also in humans, the researchers recruited 60 women, average age 65 years. The women were asked to specify their eating habits, in order to estimate the amount of protein consumed in the morning and in the evening. Later, the women underwent visits and tests to analyze muscle function. What emerged was that women who ate more protein at breakfast had stronger and more active muscles than those who ate protein in the evening.
Protein breakfast, conclusions
Therefore, the study shows that even the time you eat can affect your health. In particular, preferring a high protein breakfast, for example based on yogurt, an egg, but also dried fruit such as walnuts and pine nuts, chia seeds, coconut flakes and avocado, perhaps enriched with fresh fruit to fill up on antioxidants and vitamins, can help strengthen muscles, ensuring movement and active life.
